Time: Spring 2011 I was working full time at Christian Youth Theatre here in Denver teaching children aged 5 - 7 and directing CYT's newest original musical "Sleeping Beauty" with children ages 8 - 18. Three days after our run ended, I hopped on a plane with Brenna and her mom for a 6 week trip! The trip included 25 nights in Zimbabwe, 5 nights in Paris, & 2 nights in London (both conveniently extended layovers on the way home). We were gone for a total of 36 days (basically 6 weeks) & 32 days settled at a house/hotel... everything else was travel time. Roughly 96 total hours in airports/planes... so worth it!
Team:
1. Brenna Deuschle: We have been best friends since we were introduced at 1.5 years old. We stayed with her dad's eldest brother and his family in Zimbabwe June 2 - 27 2011 (minus our 5 night trip to Vic Falls). Brenna's Africa experience can be found through this link but she hasn't posted anything since we got there, so give her some time before checking her blog :)
2. Bonney Deuschle: Brenna's mom/my second mother who made sure we were always out the door on time and would never miss a flight or appointment.
3. Myself : This was my second time to Africa, first time to Zimbabwe... We'll leave it at that.
Other: These blog posts are straight out of my journal that I kept while out of Colorado/after coming home. Somethings only made sense in the moment I guess though because I do not know why the "US Marine Corps Hymn" was stuck in my head while I was writing... haha. I publish my trips knowing that not many people will actually read through all of it, which makes it feel like a waste of time. However for the faithful reader I promise to give you all the raw details that are in ink in my journal except the parts where I am venting about somebody. I will provide as much visual aid as possible:) Often times my brain is much more expressive on paper so when I label each blog entry with a page count then it looks really short, it means that it looked more busy/full on paper.
The blog post from the end of May 2011 was an introduction of the trip, the two posts from June 2011 are things I wrote and posted while we were in Zimbabwe, but I may re-post them in the correct order with the journal when we get there so they make more sense.
Let's roll!
Notes of encouragement for the trip, a boarding pass, and the journal!
Getting there.
June 1, 2011.
5 journal pages.
Sitting here manning the caryons at a little table in front of The Great American Bagel & Bakery (ahem, Einsteins for the east coast) watching diversity walk by every second, left and right. I'd use the "melting pot" reference now, but this is an international airport so all the different clothing styles, beautiful accents, travelers' attitudes, workers' attitudes, and the types of people that walk by at any given moment is to be expected.
Two men in black suits without luggage, the family from in front of us who all got air sick (& rubbed off on us), two "normal" girls, two French(?) ladies, two German ladies, two blonde army men - in traveling uniform, college student in sweats, people taking their time & people rushing like there is no tomorrow. Typical airport.
[[We just met this very attractive South African individual - accent and all, but I didn't catch his name - who goes to Oklahoma State for golf and was close to the tornadoes. Good news: same 1/3 of the plane for this 16 hour Atlantic flight. Bad news: he is sitting one row up almost on the complete opposite side of the plane... guess we aren't actually destined to be friends.]]
Our day started when we met up at DIA this morning at 6 to fly to DC where we're about to leave on a 340-300e Air Bus (seating plan = xx xxxx xx) & Trevor Binburg is our pilot.
Last year I took pictures or as many sunrises/sets as possible. This year I'm thinking as many people groups as possible... I'd like to be able to show the difference between the classes without dissing on any. Last year I also documented EVERYTHING. I think I'll leave that up to Brenna this year, being a first timer to the whole "missions" trip thing. Also, she has her own new blog I can link to so that'll work, I'll still journal normal though - for myself.
Over the Atlantic: 8 hours in the air, refuel/restaff in Dekar Africa, 8 more hours to Johannesburg.
Back in DC we were trying to fly out but there were thunder/lightening storms + frost which delayed us like an hour and a half. I wasn't freaking out at all - too tired already! But we finally got out after most everyone turned into flying buddies, this is a nice seeming group of people :)
I've swallowed 2 pills -- finally! Milestone :) :)
Baby steps, haha. Malaria & sleeping pill (which doesn't knock me out as I was hoping but it is a huge help even with the dozing in and out. While we were both awake, Brenna and I played a few games of M-A-S-H (yes, like from middle school) to pass time, haha. [[Speaking of M-A-S-H, Joe Smith: you two get married and end up living in a shack in Africa doing what you do now after honeymooning in Normandy...]]
Forty minutes in Johannesburg:
Booking it through Jo'burg was crazy -- having flash backs left and right... Mrs. D can mob, let me tell you! We'd kept hearing different things about changing bags/not so it was lots of stressful 30 mins checking in everywhere we needed to then going back through security and BOOKING it to our gate. Stupid DC thunderstorms delaying our flight....*Shout out to Sean Mundt - I was journaling on the first half of the flight and "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga came up and then later in Jo'burg we ran past "Out of Africa" and I remembered when Jeremy was making fun of your hair while you were complaining about sneezing goats, oh man, flash backs to South Africa 2010!*
It is still official: the city night lights in Jo'burg from on the air/during take off or landing is the best view I have ever seen. I'm looking forward to seeing it during the day for once, in air, on our way out at the end of the month! If I knew when I was going to die I would take time to see Jo'burg lights again, & I'd bring everyone with me. Still don't have a picture of it though -- get it? Because you cannot have cameras/phones turned on during take offs or landings? Yeah.
Just sitting here in 15D looking out the window watching as each solo or clump of lights pass left to right shinning their little light-bulb-hearts out reminding everyone that they don't have to worry about the possibility of crashing over the ocean and being attacked by sharks or deep sea creepy fish or dolphins (it happens) anymore because you're over land. Of course now after finishing writing this all that can be seen is the red, blue, and white lights on the ends of the wings out either window...
Starting to get air sick again. Good thing we "commence our landing" in 5 minutes! Shortest flight ever!
*Shout out to Taylor Kelln - this flight is showing a movie called "Merecat Madness" haha!*
Anything put in place by the law/officials you cannot photograph. They can take your camera away from you - forever, even if you delete the picture in front of them - if you're caught and that is definitely not something I'd risk, so I dunno how many pictures I can take home from here :(
We are only just about to get to Harare & the binding on my journal is already getting bent and misshaped from being beaten up and shoved into my backpack so many times thus far for landings... Ms. Mom just informed us that we've been traveling for 30 hours. So now we all know: Harare, Zimbabwe is only 30 hrs away from Denver, including layovers and delays :)
